Hello, all. Welcome (back) to Jake’s Monthly. This is our fourth anthology, and in a change of pace from our darker stories, we’re now moving into the lighthearted territory of the holiday season with a subgenre rife with wonder: Science Fantasy.

Science Fantasy is a hybrid of science fiction and fantasy, so there are only three real guidelines (besides those in “Mission Statement and Submission Guidelines”). First, every story presented must have at least one element from fantasy and one from science fiction. Second, these elements must be separate; you can have magic and cyborgs in the same story, but you can’t say (or imply) that magic is just science which we don’t understand yet, or that science is magic which we’ve tried to rationalize. Finally, and this is entirely optional, give your story a happy, or at least vaguely positive ending. Tragedies will be considered at the same level as positive stories, but come on, it’s the most wonderful time of the year right now. Be jolly!

So send in stories about dragons in space, brownies at the LHC, ray guns and gorgons, or whatever you consider to be Science Fantasy!

The anthology will be open until midnight on New Years. Accepted stories will be listed under “Accepted Stories”. I will not be reading submissions on Christmas, but they’d be an excellent present. I look forward to your stories.